Outdoor Sporting Goods Store REI Won’t Be Open On Black Friday

Customers will still be able to make online purchases on Black Friday, although REI’s homepage will encourage them not to. The company will be shutting its doors, but it will be a paid holiday for its 12,000 full-time and part-time employees.

REI is opting out of the annual doorbusting frenzy on the Friday after Thanksgiving by closing its 143 stores for the day.

Here’s why we’re doing it. For 76 years, our co-op has been dedicated to one thing and one thing only: a life outdoors.

A few retailers have already announced they would not be open on Thanksgiving Day, but REI is the first to publicize it would not be open the day after. Amazon registered record sales during last Black Friday. Stritzke acknowledges the business is taking a risk by closing, but he’s more concerned with the message the company sends to consumers.

REI also created the social media hashtag #optoutside and a website where people can share their outdoorsy plans for that day.

“We’re passionate about bringing you great gear, but we’re even more passionate about the experiences it unlocks for all of us”, REI said in an email to its membership. “You need people to go to the mountain, you need people to catch that outdoor bug”. With 5.5 million members, it’s the nation’s largest retail co-op and has seen two years of double-digit growth.